Religion is an integral part of human life. Don't delude yourself with the illusion that it means nothing to you. There have been many attempts to disprove the existence of God, but the question arises: where are these people now? Faith in God remained. Even now, in the age of nanotechnology development, religion remains an essential factor in human life, because it gives hope for life after death.
What kind of religion is it that doesn't have its leaders? In Christianity, it is customary to call such religious leaders priests, but the same story shows us how often people who call themselves shepherds do nothing but shear their flock. However, there are also followers of this calling who are trying to make this world cleaner and better, at least to prevent it from turning into hell.
In this article, the reader will meet a very interesting priest, who can be called the first Internet preacher.
Early years
Priest Konstantin Parkhomenko is from the city of Novosibirsk. His birth coincided with the celebration of Partisan Day. As for the church calendar, he was born on the Memorial Day of one of the 70 apostles who later preached with So, his birth occurred on June 29, 1974.
His family was not distinguished by piety or desire to know the Truth; his parents were ordinary people. His father worked in one of the local editorial offices, his mother taught at a music school.
Young Konstantin had a rather cool attitude towards religion; his range of interests consisted of playing the guitar and practicing martial arts.
The future priest Konstantin Parkhomenko went to his conversion. He does not admit which one exactly, but it is absolutely clear that only some serious trials could turn the young man’s worldview around and turn his thoughts to God.
Appeal
In 1987, the greatest event in the life of the future priest took place. As priest Konstantin Parkhomenko himself admits, he felt the grace that he received in the sacrament of baptism. This event was not just a ritual to be done. In fact, in him he felt precisely the immediate presence of God nearby.
After baptism, he behaves like an active member of the Orthodox community. In the period from 1989 to 1991, he helped in the reconstruction of the temple, which was transferred to the diocese by the city.
In 1990, another event occurs that again changes the life of a young man. The future priest Konstantin Parkhomenko, whose biography has already changed more than once, due to chance or, if you believe the basics of Christian doctrine, by the will of the Lord, meets Archpriest Viktor Norinov, who advises the guy to enter the seminary.
Studying at a theological seminary
The priest, at the insistence of his confessor, chose a theological seminary for study. It was located in the spiritual and intellectual center of Russia. The city of Petrov so captured the imagination of the young man that he wandered for a long time through the narrow streets of the city. Here he indulged in reflection regarding human destiny and place in this world. The theological seminary showed that he was a capable student, he had no problems with his studies, but at the same time he formed an understanding that modern society, which positions itself as Christian, is completely unfamiliar with the foundations and main tasks of Christian life. Reading several pages every day from the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Constantine came to the conclusion that it was necessary to preach the teachings of Christ to the people around him.
At this time, he began to be attracted to missionary activity, but his full potential as a preacher could only be revealed when he graduated from the seminary and entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
Studying at the Theological Academy
After graduating from theological seminary in 1995, Konstantin entered the academy. It is undeniable that the city of Petrov had a very great influence on his worldview. After all, it is here that there is an educational institution that provides the best education to clergy. Theological seminary gives awareness of the great mission that is entrusted to the shepherd. This is the preaching of the Word of God.
In addition to studying, the future priest Konstantin Parkhomenko began to engage in missionary work. His activities were so varied and wide that many teachers were surprised where the young man had so much strength and energy to constantly speak and talk about Christianity. It should be noted that this activity helped him find his future wife.
Family
He is married to Elizaveta Parkhomenko and has five children. Father Konstantin is a lucky man who was able to find not only a wife, but also a life partner who fully shares his views on life and supports him in everything. Together with his wife, Father Konstantin published several books. The family life of spouses is based solely on the Holy Scriptures and Tradition of the Church. It has an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Children are brought up in the spirit of the Orthodox tradition, which only has a positive effect on them. The couple admit that they cannot live without each other.
Missionary activities
Even during his years at the academy, missionary work became one of Constantine’s most favorite activities. This did not go unnoticed by the hierarchy. After several successful performances, he was appointed head of the missionary department of the academy. At the same time, he reveals his potential as a preacher. Konstantin holds events every day, preaches in schools, institutes, and kindergartens. Soon he begins to engage in more responsible work, he preaches to a more mature audience, speaks to police officers, soldiers, also visits nursing homes, and does not bypass people with disabilities. As he later admitted, he found it most difficult to preach among the mentally ill and people undergoing compulsory treatment for drug addiction.
In addition, he often appears on the radio and is the organizer of projects such as Teos and the Christian channel OKO, which he later headed.
In 2001, he was appointed presenter at the Grad Petrov radio, where he continues to work. In addition, he records various videos every day and posts them on YouTube.
Priestly activity
After graduating from the academy, without leaving missionary activity, he was appointed reader of the Holy Kazan Cathedral. In 1999, he was ordained as a deacon and left to serve in the same cathedral. In 2000, after completing his internship, he was ordained as a priest. Priest Konstantin was sent to the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, not far from the village of Repino.
The authority of the young priest was so great that a large number of people came from all over the city to listen to his sermons and participate in divine services. It has never been a mystery to anyone that where priest Konstantin Parkhomenko serves, a huge number of parishioners gather there.
In 2001, he was transferred to the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity.
In 2007, he headed the department of the St. Petersburg diocese dealing with family and youth issues.
In 2010, by decree of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow, he was elevated to the rank of archpriest for services to the Church.
Literary activity
Father is the author of a large number of books and articles that introduce the reader and the general public to Christianity. It should be noted that in his works the author tries to convey to the reader in the simplest and most accessible language that Christianity and its essence lie not only in the correct image on one’s body. Christianity calls on a person to become better, throwing away various passions, and rush to the Creator in order to achieve eternal life.
Priest Konstantin Parkhomenko writes books that allow the reader to encounter real Christianity; they are bestsellers in Orthodox literature. These are, for example, such works as “About Angels and Demons”, “Raising a Child in a Christian Family”, “Life Beyond the Threshold of Death” and others.
Repeatedly the priest received not only church awards for them, but also secular prizes.
Orthodox Youth Center
Father Konstantin amazes with his ability to work, because in addition to all of the above, he heads an Orthodox youth center. Back in 1995, in parallel with the creation of a project on television, then an academy student, Konstantin, was creating an Orthodox center for youth. Even then, the future priest understood that only working with people should be the main task of the Church.
Therefore, it is natural that he created a society of young people who profess the same religious and moral values.
The center organizes various charity events; in addition, you can meet your future soul mate there.
Church awards
Thanks to his work, priest Konstantin Parkhomenko was repeatedly awarded various church and secular awards.
In 1998 he was awarded the distinctive sign of the Great Martyr Tatiana.
In 2006, he received the Order of Danko’s Heart for his contribution to spiritual revival and activities among young people.
In 2012 he was awarded a medal with the image of the Apostle Peter.
Thus, priest Konstantin Parkhomenko is an excellent example to follow, because there are not so many people, even among the clergy, who are so zealously ready to serve people. More often, unfortunately, you come across successful managers in robes than good priests. However, having such an example as the priest described above, you understand that there are still conscientious ministers with pure thoughts.
Adolescence is considered a difficult age. This is quite fair and not surprising, because this is a transition from dependence to independence. From complete helplessness, almost absolute unity with parents, a person must move on to an independent adult life. Archpriest Konstantin and Elizaveta Parkhomenko discuss the difficulties of this period in their new book “This is the inheritance from the Lord. Father and Mother about raising their children,” an excerpt from which we offer you.
Archpriest Konstantin Parkhomenko with his family
It is generally accepted that for a teenager the family ceases to play an important role and that the function of parents is mainly to raise the child up to this age. This is wrong. Although, of course, control should be weakened: the child begins his own life, the foundation of his personality is laid. However, this does not mean that family and parents fade into the background.
Another thing is that in life a teenager often gets out of the control of his parents and isolates himself from them in every possible way. This happens because at the previous stage, in an earlier period, the child’s connection with the family was not strong and harmonious enough, and then, indeed, the teenager begins to distance himself from his parents and even push them away. In this case, parents have no choice but to come to terms with the existing state of affairs, since it is too late to radically change anything. All that remains is to pray for your growing children, so that, no matter what, they will be able to choose the right path and, having passed this difficult age, will want to return to their parents. We must pray and gently support them when necessary, be there for them, and let them know that they can always count on parental help.
If the child’s relationship with his parents was close and harmonious, then the family continues to be important for him during adolescence. Moreover, during this period the teenager especially needs the approval and protection of his parents. It’s good when a grown-up child has good, supportive friends, but it is very important that his parents become something like older friends for him. This is only possible if there were friendly relations before.
I repeat that how strong the distortions of parental love were at the previous stage, so strong will be the problems during this difficult period. As teenagers, we reap the benefits of past years. If freedom and respect are not something that a teenager has won for himself, if they have always been present, then in general the relationship remains the same, the teenager continues to be drawn to the family. A teenager perceives everything acutely and painfully, experiences failures and problems greatly, actively searches for himself, but at the same time needs affection and support from his parents. Another thing is that this is not always obvious; sometimes at this age he does not consider it acceptable for himself to show the need for parental attention. Parents should be vigilant and responsive to their teenager, carefully ensuring that the amount of tenderness and affection that the child receives at this age does not decrease.
You can compare the soul of a child to a container that needs to be filled with love and affection in time. Teenagers are only seemingly independent and self-sufficient; in fact, they constantly need their parents to fill their “emotional containers” with love.
However, this is complicated by a number of factors. In adolescence, children often behave inappropriately, display the worst traits of their character, get tired quickly, get irritated easily, withdraw into themselves - in general, they become not the most pleasant interlocutors. However, the other side of this behavior is a heightened perception of life. In order for a teenager to feel confident and calm in the world that he is discovering for himself in a new way, parents should try to be doubly friendly, even when the behavior of their matured child does not contribute to such an attitude. If parents show wisdom and respect, then there is no need to worry about their children and hope that they have enough strength and energy to overcome the difficulties of adolescence and find the right path in life. The amount of responsibility that the new status of a teenager places on them will not seem like an unbearable burden to them.
Father Konstantin:
There is an opinion that during adolescence it is impossible to get along well with a child, at least for parents.
Elizabeth:
This is certainly not the case. I know of many cases where adolescence passed quite smoothly and calmly. He was a storm in comparison
with the rest of the child’s life, but calm compared to the adolescence of other children.
It happens that problems are hidden for the time being. During adolescence, they break out, and then it is akin to a volcanic eruption. If the line of upbringing was correct, then such an eruption will not happen - there will be nothing to erupt. After all, for a mountain collapse to occur, snow must first accumulate. Again, a comparison can be made with seeds and shoots. The previous period - pre-adolescent childhood - is a time when the results are not yet obvious, but then both good and bad are laid down, which are now manifested.
However, even in the case of the calmest, smoothest passage of adolescence, there are a number of moments characteristic of youth that cannot be avoided, and it is not necessary.
Father Konstantin:
What do you mean?
Elizabeth:
Adolescence is a time of active self-discovery, a time when a grown-up child tries himself in different roles, in different areas of life, strives to understand his place and tasks in the world, and decide on the direction of further development. In these searches, he often goes to extremes. This is natural: in order to ultimately achieve the golden mean, he must first try everything, get to know everything and comprehend everything.
The child is conservative by nature. He loves the old, familiar, traditional, associated with his previous experience. He doesn't take too kindly to sudden changes. A teenager, on the contrary, tends to reject the old, established and look for new forms. This is not only normal, but also necessary. A teenager is looking for his way in life. If adolescence goes well, then there is no need to worry: then he will return to what he rejected.
The Nikeya publishing house invites you to a meeting with Archpriest and psychologist Elizaveta Parkhomenko!
The meeting will be held as part of the book presentation "This is the heritage of the Lord" in “Bukvoed” on Vladimirsky Prospekt, 23 April 11 at 19-00.
Father Konstantin:
It’s like the joke that says that at the age of five a child thinks: “Mom knows everything.” At twelve he thinks: “Mom doesn’t know something.” At fifteen I’m sure: “Mom doesn’t know anything.” At thirty: “I should have listened to my mother.” This, of course, is just an anecdote, but some points in it are noted very accurately.
Elizabeth:
The desire to distance yourself from everything familiar and traditional is completely natural for this period. On the contrary, the complete absence of such trends during this period should be alarming. In this case, it is more likely to say that something is wrong with the child. Perhaps the child is not mature enough, not ready enough to become an adult, independent person.
The desire to reject the old and seek and create their own new largely explains the desire of teenagers to unite in groups with strange forms of clothing, their own slang, and moral standards. Boys and girls want to separate themselves from everything that is familiar, established, and dictates its own rules to them. A teenager is drawn to peers who are like him and who are looking for the same thing. This is where the desire to listen to one’s own music, different from what one’s parents like, comes from, and to behave differently than is customary among the older generation.
For prosperous teenagers, this desire to be different, to reject the traditional and familiar is especially evident in the choice of music and clothing style.
But if the parents were unable to give the child genuine love, he usually, entering adolescence, begins to throw out accumulated irritation and dissatisfaction on them, and express active protest against their behavior, upbringing, and their attitude towards him. In his thoughtless protest, he sometimes goes as far as rejecting his parents, drug addiction, crime, and connections with bad companies.
But even a prosperous teenager finds himself in a very difficult situation. On the one hand, he also wants to rebel against the old and look for the new, but, on the other hand, he has no inner need or desire to rebel and resist his parents. Choices in music and clothing are often the few ways in which he can express his thirst for innovation. The task of wise parents in this situation is to direct this age-related feature in the right direction. We will return to this issue a little later and talk about how this can be done.
The human personality is always a personality, unique and eternal, be it the personality of a small child, an adult or a teenager. Until the 20th century, the child was generally treated as an inferior, unformed being. Now this is not the case, but still, the personality is fully revealed only in adulthood. Until then, we can talk about personal growth. Adolescence is the final stage, although personal growth will continue to occur throughout life. Let's imagine that we are waiting for a flower to bloom. We are glad to see the sprout, but still we are waiting for the flower. And the most amazing thing begins when the transformation occurs - a bud appears and a flower opens. What is all this for? To emphasize that transformation must happen to everyone who develops well. Each to its own extent, depending on previous life, but these natural changes that require effort from the child cannot occur completely unnoticed.
Culture offers the new generation youth movements, its uniform, clothing, music. It has always been this way. In all this there is a challenge to the previous generation. Wisdom is to understand the naturalness of this process. Let's take music for example.
It is understandable that parents who have musical taste and strong moral compass do not want their children to listen to the products offered by mass culture. What I mean is that often the music is only in name, and the lyrics have no meaning or the meaning is clearly immoral, or, even worse, immoral in disguise. A teenager’s personality develops intensively, and it doesn’t matter what a person’s head and soul are doing at such an important time.
The question of a wise and clear position is especially acute for believing parents. In Orthodox literature concerning issues of education, there are two opposing opinions. The first, especially widespread in the Orthodox environment, which is inclined to conservatism, is the tendency to protect the child, as far as possible, from everything that modern culture offers him. It is very difficult to call this trend reasonable. A prosperous child strives to express himself in the style of clothing, in the choice of music, that is, in the most innocent way, and from his parents, a good relationship with whom is very important for him, he hears words of disapproval and rejection. It is important for a child to be understood by his parents, including the need to look for new things. It is not surprising that the prohibitions here turn out to be ineffective and erect a wall of misunderstanding between parents and children.
INTERNET, ETERNITY AND THE DASTY JUDGMENT What is modern war? If you please. Every day, hundreds of millions of people around the world - children, young men, wives and husbands - sit in front of their monitors and play war games in its various modifications. For hours. And it is absolutely impossible to tear them away from this activity. “Playing war,” of course, is a relative concept, but some people actually play war and seem to themselves to be brutal and invincible warriors; others are busy with less militarized things, but they are busy, and that’s the main thing. For the enemy. Because there is a war going on for the souls of people, and the main thing for the enemy is to bind the soul, occupy it with something useless for eternity, and thus destroy it without firing a single shot. Here, shots are needed least of all, because the death of the body for the sake of truth, for the sake of standing for the truth, death, relatively speaking, from an evil bullet - such death makes a person’s soul partake of the highest truth and spiritual bliss, and this is what cannot be our enemies do not want to allow this. So they are waging another, as inconspicuous and secret war as possible. Decomposing. However, it remains a secret only for those who do not want to think about themselves, about the purpose of their existence in this world and in eternity. But the goal is simple - here on earth to work in obedience to God in order to inherit the Kingdom of God in eternity. The definition is simple, but in order to understand its depth and meaning, you need to work hard, because the Lord opens the treasures of spiritual life to those who obey Him, who seek Him persistently and compelling themselves to every good deed. So, all those hundreds of millions of people of different gender, age and character who spend hours on the Internet seem to themselves to be participants in great achievements, victories and discoveries, but in reality... in reality they are people with tired, haggard faces, with reddened eyes, stooped people who sit motionless for days in front of information idols. And the one who owns these idols defeats these people without firing a single shot. It makes them good-for-nothing idlers who imagine themselves, if not the arbiters of their destinies, then at least as people who live colorful and full lives. The life of these people is poisoned by fog, obsession, spiritual sleep, which brings them sweet dreams for the time being, but the reality parallel to the dream becomes increasingly gloomy and hopeless. Because it's war. And this is her goal - to neutralize the enemy by any means. And then destroy. If you add up all the hours that each of these people spends every day in their virtual world, you get... it’s even scary to think how many years of wasted time. And this is just for one day. And there are dozens, hundreds and thousands of such days... And earthly life is so short... And when the “war” is over, you will have to answer before the Terrible Judge for how you spent the precious and, alas, irrevocable years of earthly life. And they are precious because it is here on earth that a person makes the choice of his eternity. He chooses only by his attitude to the Truth. He can ignore her, neglect her, ridicule her and not acknowledge her. There is only one thing he cannot do - completely hide from the Truth, because every person, regardless of whether he is good or evil, rich or poor, believer or not - every person will have to sooner or later appear before the Truth. And the judgment that must take place then will be truly terrible precisely because it will be impossible to hide, or to brush aside, or to justify oneself. And the main question addressed to the soul will be extremely simple: what have you done in your life for love? And in the light of true love, then it will be impossible to call anything else love, something else that we, in our madness and darkness, out of naivety or delusion, considered to be love. And our victories will not be those imaginary achievements and victories that uselessly entertained our vanity and rooted us in conceit and passions, but victories of love over hatred, attention to others over indifference, hard work over laziness, faith over unbelief, abstinence over voluptuousness... And precisely These victories, impossible without God’s help, will turn out in a terrible hour to be the main asset and content of our personality, our life in eternity. And if there are no such victories or their number is insignificant, then no matter how many other victories we win in real or virtual battles, we will have to experience the greatest and most regrettable defeat in our lives. The defeat of a life wasted. And the “winner” in this war will be the one who, for his “victory” over myriads of souls, will find himself in the heat of his own malice and hatred. But while the battle is not over, while the days of our earthly life are still flowing, we still have happy hope and a chance to become participants in a truly great victory. And for this all you need is to choose the Truth as your commander and follow Her in all the paths of your heart. And although this life will be more difficult than the virtual one, it will be Real. But in life this is precisely the most important thing. I'm not against the Internet, of course. I use it myself. And, having finished writing this text, I will probably send it by e-mail to the editor, but... I understand that virtual life can and should be only a part of my real life, and a small part at that. But that's not all. It turns out that this small part must still be able to control, otherwise it will begin to control you and from a small part it will become more and more until it swallows you whole and makes you a slave. That is, in the virtual world, the war that we talked about - the war for the human soul - does not stop, and everyone entering the information world must remember this and conduct military operations competently. Namely, in simple terms, use the Internet to serve God and people, and not allow the Internet to use you to fight God and people. The Internet is a great help in real life! First of all, as a reference book, manual, library, and, of course, as a means of communication. But nothing more... I'm sure we need prayer before going online. For example: “Lord, protect my mind and heart while working on the Internet, so that I use it wisely to serve You and my neighbors!” Such a prayer expresses our free will, our desire to remain with God in the virtual space and do whatever good is possible. However, there is a danger here too, because the evil one most often takes possession of a person’s soul precisely under the guise of goodness, so that a person, again, can sit immobilized for days on end in front of a luminous screen, thinking that he is doing constant good, but in reality he will remain in enslavement to demons. That is why life on the Internet must necessarily constitute only a small fraction of our real life (except perhaps the life of professional “IT specialists”). And we need to be able to turn off our computer and remain in silence... pray and look around... act and live a real, real life, which requires from us faith, patience, and constancy in doing good. And it is in this field - real life with all its struggles, falls, but also repentance and uprisings - that the work of serving God and people, the work of gaining eternal grace-filled life, is accomplished. And as long as we, thank God, have not died yet, as long as we can tear ourselves away from the monitor and look around, think about those who need our help, our participation, our war is not over. And we can still, with God’s help, emerge victorious from it. If we can understand the exceptional importance of sobriety, abstinence and self-restraint, including in relation to the human invention - the Internet. Let us use our precious time, free from the Internet, for attentive prayer, for reading the word of God and the writings of the holy fathers, for deeds of mercy and love - and we will see for ourselves how clearly our lives will begin to change. Change spiritually. Are there any secrets in this matter? Yes, and they are simple. We need to love the crampedness and tightness and sorrow that occurs when we begin to oppress our flesh - that is, the carnal man with all his “passions and lusts.” Because as soon as we begin to deny ourselves everything sweet and dreamy that we are accustomed to, grief and pain immediately begin. But this is the secret: you don’t need to run away from this sorrow, but love it as a saving, luminous garment, put on it and even love it, no matter how strange it may sound. Because behind this sorrow of the oppressed flesh, the inexpressible joy of the soul is revealed, entering the spiritual realm of obedience to God. And these are not fictions, not some kind of fairy tales. And anyone can experience this for themselves. And while we remember this, we try to fulfill this with prayer and hope in God’s help - we cannot be called a defeated army, but an undefeated army. And let this be a source of joy, inspiration and hope for us. Hopes for real life. priest Dimitry Shishkin
She spoke about the creative path of Father Konstantin and her experience of collaborating with him.
Father Konstantin and Elizaveta share their own experience of growing up in an Orthodox family: the couple have five children. How to raise a Christian from a child, how to make sure that the growing child does not leave the faith, learns to distinguish good from evil and consciously and freely chooses good? Using the example of a priest’s family, readers will learn how psychological knowledge about the characteristics of their development and ways to solve emerging problems enriches the approach to raising children.
Archpriest Konstantin Parkhomenko spoke about the history of the book’s creation and creative plans for the future. According to him, the book was born in an unusual way: Father Konstantin and his wife simply sat down at the table and discussed various issues of raising children - she from the point of view of a psychologist, he from the point of view of a shepherd. Then the recordings of these conversations were transcribed and edited. The book was written back in 2008, but for a number of reasons it was not published, but was only made available to the public on the ABC of Faith website.
In the spring of 2015, the Nikeya publishing house offered to expand and publish the work - this is how the first, theoretical part of the book saw the light. In the future, it is planned to publish a second, practical part.
Family psychologist Elizaveta Parkhomenko spoke about the main idea of the book, which runs through all its parts. She noted that many parents are interested in the same questions: how to influence their child correctly, how to convey their demands to him, how to make him obey. And although a great many books have been written on the topic of raising children and new methods appear every year, this need is not satisfied and the problem remains. According to Elizaveta Parkhomenko, for all methods and techniques of education to work, they must become secondary.
Elizaveta Parkhomenko spoke about the most common problems of modern parents.
According to Elizaveta Parkhomenko, the father can provide enormous assistance to the mother at the moment of letting go of the child if he plays his main role in the family - to be a loving husband for his wife, “to take her back for himself.” If there is intimacy in the couple, if the mother can switch to the relationship with her husband, then it will be easier for her to come to terms with the child’s independence.
Another important need for a child, Elizabeth named the need for power and leadership. If parents are not a “compass needle” for a child, then he is lost. Parents should be adults, children should not take on their role, it is too much for them. “The path of realizing oneself as a parent is very difficult. Everyone makes mistakes along the way, but everything can be learned and corrected, asked for forgiveness and reached an agreement. It is important that the parent does with the child what he likes. One of the key points in parenting is the mother should be happy and enjoy activities with the child,” she concluded.
At the end of the meeting, listeners were able to ask the authors questions that interested them. Most of the questions received were on the topic of raising a child in the faith. Archpriest Konstantin Parkhomenko spoke about what is the basis for raising a child as a Christian: “This is not the integration of the child into Russian Orthodox culture, but the cultivation of living religiosity in the child. The child’s living conditions may change, his worldview may change greatly, but if he was instilled in childhood living experience of feeling God, then this will remain with him for the rest of his life. And how to cultivate living religiosity? A hint to us in answering this question may be that our attitude towards God is determined by our relationship with our parents. Therefore, some people treat God as good , a generous, loving and forgiving Heavenly Father, while others are afraid of Him and His punishments. If a child has strict parents who demand obedience and often resort to punishment, then the child’s attitude towards God is formed as a punishing master. And if the parents generously gave love, accepted the child as he is, with all his mistakes, then a completely different attitude towards God is developed. If we want a child to have a correct perception of God, we need to think about what kind of parents we are for our children."
Another important problem that worries many is the crisis of faith in adolescence. Father Konstantin said that religious tossing and searching is a completely normal phenomenon for a teenager. The child grows, his worldview and image of God changes. It is important that he consciously perceive faith, and not mechanically follow the program of “fasting and praying.”
When asked how to instill in a child an interest and love for worship, Father Konstantin replied that it is enough for a small child to attend services for 20-30 minutes so that he becomes familiar with the beauty of worship and does not get tired. From the age of 11-12, you should ask the child if he wants to go to church, and from the age of 14-15, he should decide this on his own. It is important to create such an atmosphere in the family so that Sunday is perceived as a holiday: plan interesting events and joyful events after the service in the church.
In conclusion, Father Konstantin said that our whole life should be religious, in every daily activity: playing with a child, walking, creative activities - we can feel God. “Our life should be a stand before God, a kind of worship. The task of a Christian is, no matter where he finds himself in life, to be a co-worker with God in this world,” he concluded.
Archpriest Konstantin Parkhomenko is a cleric of the Holy Trinity Izmailovo Cathedral, an employee of the diocesan radio station "Grad Petrov" and the radio station "Blessed Mary". At the parish he runs a Sunday school for adults and children. He teaches at St. Petersburg theological schools and the Orthodox Public University. Editor of the Orthodox Internet portal "ABC of Faith", author of books and articles devoted to the foundations of the Orthodox faith.
Elizaveta Parkhomenko is a family and child psychologist. She completed retraining in psychology at the Faculty of Psychology of St. Petersburg State University. Children's Sunday school teacher and author of the "Family Sunday School" methodology. In 2008 she was awarded the medal of St. Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg for her work with children.